Steering means for watercraft



M. KATCHER ETAL. 2,363,335

STEERING MEANS FOR WATERCRAFT Filed July '23, 1942' 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS, g Mame/5 M4 TCHER JTANLEYMML KER BY W I ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 21, 1944 I Morrisf Katclier and Stanley W. Walker,

' New York, N. Y.

/ Applicationjuly zt 1942,'Ser ial No. 451,998

40mins.- gown- 144) "This invention relates to steering meansfor boats, ships and other watercraft or the like. Besides having steering means substantially at the rear or stern of the watercraft, additional -steering means are provided at or near the forward end or bow of the craft to increase its maneuverability, a desideratum especially for naval warfare. Theforward steering means can be used to cooperate with the rear steering means to enable the boat to turn through a shorter radius than if only the rear steering m'eanswere used. The forward steering means may be synchronized in its operation with the rear steering means or it may be operated independently thereof. Besides being able to reduce the radius, the two steering means when suitably set with respect to each other can be used to give'the boat lateral motion without rotation or with varying degrees thereof. A number of different constructions are shown'for accomplishing the forward steering action. They could also be used at the rear of the craft. Under normal condi- I tions, the rudder is used at the stern as the steering means, but where thereare a p1urality-of propellers they can be used as theistern steering means as is well known to the art.

Otherobjects and advantages will become apparent upon further study of the drawings, in which: Fig. 1' shows a ship equipped with steering means fore as well as aft. 7 Fig. 2 shows the path of the ship for certain assumed settings of a standard rear rudder.

Fig. 3 showsthe pathof the same ship for the same settings of the rear rudder but with the I added efiect of the fore rudder.

Fig. 4 is a partial elevation of a ship at its bow with a substantially triangular rudder hinged thereto. I Fig. 5 is a sectional p'lan taken along the line 55 ofFig.4.

' Fig. 6 is a partial elevation of a ship at its bow showing the near leaf of a double leaved along the description and f 45* Fig. 7 is a sectional plan taken along the line the injector principle. The screens at the ends of the passages are omitted.

Fig. 11 is a sectional plan along the line I I I I of Fig..10, but taken to a larger scale than the latter figure, a .portion of the bow and a portio of the manifold being broken away.

Fig. 12 is a'partial elevation of a ship bow, showing a pair of ports on the sideof the ship below the Water line, the screens. being omittedfrom the ports for clarity. Fig. 13 is a sectional plan taken along the line I3I3 of Fig.- l2showing the ports leadinglto passages, the flow through whichis controlled byavalve. Fig. 14 is a partial elevation of a ship at its bow with an auxiliary structure added; thereto, said structure containing steering mechanism, of the type shown in Figs. 6 and 7, and- 1 Fig. 15 isa sectional plan .takenalong the line I5I5 of Fig. 14.

The bow of boat I9, Figs. 4 and 5, isprovided with a transverse opening IS in which is mounted rudder I-l. Said rudder'is of triangular prismoidal form. It is fixedly mounted on shaft H3 so that it may be swung about a substantially vertical axis. Shaft I8, which is the m'eans'for operating rudder I1 is in turn adapted to be rotated by suitable steering gear, not shown, such gear being well known to the art. When rudder I1 is not in use it lies within opening 16, that is, it is in neutral position as shown by the dash lines. The sides of the rudder when in neutral position conform substantial y to the lines of the boat so that there is a minimumof resistance to the travel of the boat.

With rudder I'lshoWn in the position indicated by the solid lines,the. tendency is to cause the boat I9 to turn in a counter-clockwise direction. With rudder I! set as indicated by the solid lines, and rear rudder 20 set as shown in Fig. 3, boat I9 is enabled to be turned more'sharply in a counter-clockwise direction, than if the boat just had rear rudder 20 as in Fig. 2. With rudder I'I set as shown by the dash lines of Fig. 5, it is in neutral position and does not affect the steering of the boat. With rudder I! in the position shown for. it by the dot and dash lines of Fig. 5, the tendency is to turn the boat in a clockwise direction. With rudder I1 set as last noted and rudder 20 set as shown in Fig. 3, when a forward propelling force is applied to theboat. it ,will move diagonally forward, upward and to the right in Fig. 3, substantially no rotationof the boat taking place. Inother words,. the motion. is oneof .at. its

substantially pure translation. Such a motion is of value in docking a ship or When it is desired to come up broadside to another vessel.

The fore steering means shown in Figs. 6 and 7 comprises two separately mounted leaf rudders 2| and 22. Rudder 2| is fixedly mounted on rotatable shaft 23, while rudder 22 is fixedly mounted on shaft 24. Shafts 23 and 24 are rotated as desired by steering gear, not shown, which is well known to the art. Shafts 23 and 24 are the means for rotating rudders 2| and 22. The dot and dash position of rudder 22, shown in Fig. 7,

corresponds to that shown for it in Fig. 3, and produces the steering effect shown "in the latter figure. With rudder 22 extended as shown by the dot and dash lines, rudder 2| is nested in the boat for maximum steering effect. rudder 2| extended; rudder 22 is nested in the boat for maximum steering effect in the opposite direction. Rudders 2| and 22 are so formed and mounted in the sides of the boat or watercraft, that when nested therein in neutral position they conform to the lines of the boat. r

In Figs. 8 and 9 is shown an hydraulic means of steering the boat at its bow. A transverse passage 25 is provided near the bow and below the waterline. Mounted in passage 25 is a pump, the particular pump shown havin a propeller 26, but of course it will be readily understood that other forms of pumpcan be used. A reversible motor 42 is used to rotate propeller 26. The ends of passage 25 are provided with screens 21 to keep out foreign matter, the screens conforming to the lines of the boat. When it is desired to turn .the bow Of the boat as in Fig. 3, propeller 26 is rotated so that water is sent through passage 25 in the direction of the solid arrows in Fig. 9. To turn the front of the boat in the opposite direction, the propeller is'rotated in a direction opposite to that noted above, causing water to be sent through passage 25 in the direction of the dotted arrows.

In Figs. and 11,.an injector type of pump is used. Steam is led through pipe 28 from a source, not shown, in the boat. At its forward end, pipe 28 is connected to a manifold having a set of pipes 29 to starboard and anotherset 30 to port. Pipes v29 are provided with nozzles 32 which are directed to starboard and pipes 33 are provided with nozzles 33 which are directed to port. A set of transverse passages 3| of relatively small diameter are provided, each passage containing one nozzle 32 and one nozzle 33. Controlling the entrance of steam from pipe 28 to the manifold pipes 29 and 30 is a valve 34. When valve 34 issetby its stem 43 as shown in Fig. 11, steam is led from pipe 28 to port nozzles 33. As is well known to the art, a high velocity jet issuing to port through a nozzle 33 inside a narrow passage, such as a passage 3|, will force a flow of water through said passage to port. It will be evident then, with With 7 shown in Figs. 12 and 13, except that in this case the flow is effected by the motion of the craft itself. A common passage 36 is provided at the bow substantially along the longitudinal axis of the boat. Leading off from the front of passage 33 and inclining toward port is branch passage 31. Also leading off from the front of passage 36 and inclining toward starboard is branch passage 38.. At the junction of passage 36 and transverse passage 39 is located a valve 40. Streamlined screens 35' are provided to protect the passages from debris. With valve 40 in the position shown in Fig. 13, the water entering passage 36 from branch passages 31 and 38 is discharged to tarboard through transverse passage 39. Under these conditions the bow of the boat is turned to port as in Fig. 3. If valve 40 is turned opposite hand from that shown in Fig. 13, the water is discharged to port as shown by the dotted arrows turning the bow of the ship to starboard. Stem 44 is used to rotate valve 40. When valv 40 is set to block off passage 39, no steering effect is produced.

Figs. 14 and 15 illustrate an auxiliary structure 4| which can be added to the front of a ship I!) to provide the forward steering means without requiring extensive alterations of the ship. The steering means shown on auxiliary structure 4| is the same as that shown in Figs. 6 and 7, leaf rudders 2| and 22 being provided.

The steering means of Figs. 9, l1 and 13 all have the same underlying principle in that a stream of water is caused to be discharged from the valve setting shown, that water will be sent through all the passages 3| to port, as shown by the solid arrows, causing the bow of the craft to turn to starboard. If valve 34 is turned to send steam through starboard pipes 32, water is forced through passages 3| to starboard, causing the bow of the boat to swing to port as in Fig. 3. Screens 35 are provided at the ends of passages 3|, streamlining with the sides of the craft. When valve 34 is set in neutral position, steam is prevented from entering any of manifold pipes 29 and 30.

Water is caused to flow from one side of the boat to the other also by the steering means a side of the boat near its bow.

In order toincrease the effect of front steering, some of the steering means just described may be used together, thus the rudders of Fig. '7 may be provided on a ship together with the steer ing means'of Fig. 13. The turning of rudders 2| and 22 can be synchronized with the turning of valve 40 by mechanism well known to the art.

Throughout th figures no detailed mechanism is shown for operating the steering means as such mechanism is well known to the art.

We claim:

1. In a watercraft, conduit means extending therethrough, the forward portion of the means extending from the bow in a substantially stem to stem direction while the rear of the means extends transversely, the front of the means being open and below the waterline, to receive water due to the forward propulsion of the craft, the rear portion of said means extending to both sides of the craft to discharge from the sides the water so received, means for controlling the flow of water through said conduit means, said flow controlling means having the water received by said forward portion pass through it and permitting more water so passing to issue from said rear portion on one side of the craft or the other in accordance with its setting for effecting the steering of the craft, said flow controlling means when set to permit the issuance of more water from said rear portion to one side of the craft, closing off said rear portion against the issuance of water tothe other side of the craft, for effecting tlirfe steering of the craft toward the side closed '0 2. In a watercraft, a bow having a substantially T-shaped passage therethrough, the stern of the T extending longitudinally of the craft with its forward end below the waterline and open to the entrance of water, the forward propulsion of the craft forcing water into said stem, the head of the T extending transversely of th craft with its craft the water forced into said stem, and means for controlling the flow through saidhead of the water received from the stem, said flow controlling means having said water pass through it and permitting more water so passing to issue from said head on one side of the craft or the other in accordance with its setting, said means when set to Permit the issuance of more water from the head on one side of the craft, closing off the head against the issuance of water to the other side of the craft for effecting the steering of the craft toward the side closed off.

3. In a watercraft, conduit means extending therethrough, the forward portion of the means extending from the bow in a substantially stem to stem direction while the rear of the means xtends transversely, the front of the means being open and below the waterline, to receive water due to the forward propulsion of the craft, the rear portion of said means extending to both sides of the craft to discharge from the sides the water so received, means for controlling the'flow of Water through saidconduit means, said flow controlling means having the water received by said forward portion pass through it when set to steer the craft and stopping said flow When'set not to steer, said flow controlling means in accordance with its setting permitting the water passing through it to issue from said rear portion in greater volume on one side of the craft or the other for determining the direction of the craft, and means for setting the flow controlling means said flow controlling means, when set to permit the issuance of more water from said rear portion to one side of the craft, closingoff said rear portion against the issuance of water to the other side of the craft, for effecting the steering of the craft toward the side closed 01f.

4. In awatercraft, a conduit extending through the bow of the craft, the forward portion of the conduit extending in a substantially stem to stem below the waterline at the forward portion of the latter to discharge from the sides of the craft the ,water so received, a chamber provided at the junction of said portions, and a valve stem mounted to rotate in the chamber, said stem de fleeting by the impact thereof against it the water received from said forward portion, directing the water sodeflected toissue from said rear portion'on one side of the craft or the other in accordancewith the angular position of the stem in said chamber, thereby effecting the steering of the craft away from the side to which the water is deflected.

MORRIS KATCHER.

STANLEY .W. WALKER. 

